


Pir'ekulor

by scalphunter



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: 501st Need Therapy, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Ficlet, Friendship, Gen, Light Angst, Loyalty means everything to the clones, Tup Needs A Hug, post-Umbara arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25315021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scalphunter/pseuds/scalphunter
Summary: Tup spits blood onto the ground, pushing Fives away when he tries to lend a hand. Fives pinches the bridge of his nose and leans into his space, intending to lead him back towards the barracks.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 45





	Pir'ekulor

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was supposed to be chap 2 of 'Doslanir' but it sort of took it's own path, but you can read 'Doslanir' as a prologue (?) to be honest, it still works.

Fives is the one who pulls Tup away, kicking and yelling, tears streaming down his face. He stops him doing something else he regrets, ducking down so he doesn’t get a bottle to the face presumably from one of the lovely pieces of crap that Tup had gone after. He drags him, shoving him out of the door, and onto the main strip, before word travels too fast and the higher-ups get wind. Tup spits blood onto the ground, pushing Fives away when he tries to lend a hand. Fives pinches the bridge of his nose and leans into his space, intending to lead him back towards the barracks.

He doesn’t ask on their way back, and Tup politely ignores him.

It’s Kix who spots Tup, rushes over, and begins to fuss over him in the way that is so very Kix, Tup allows it to happen. Fives hands over the responsibility to their medic, watching him scan him, tilt his head this way and that, and Fives makes himself comfortable on the wall. Kix eyes him too, like he is about to stick a stim in him, and yes, Fives took an elbow to the jaw in the mess of things, but he has no broken teeth and barely a split lip – he’s had worse during sex.

‘So, you wanna tell me what that was about?’

Fives hadn’t actually been there when it kicked off, only arriving in time to go to the aide of his brother.

‘It was nothing’ Tup’s lying, and Fives isn’t too fond of that, so he nudges Kix out of the way and looks at him properly.

'Don’t pull that on me. I taught you that, I know you. Spill it’ he pushes and Tup sighs, before he flushes red and angry again and Fives holds out his hands to catch Tup’s flapping ones.

‘They were talking about Umbara’ he says and Fives freezes, and he can just about make out that Kix has come to a stop too.

Fives swallows on nothing.

‘I see. And what did they say?’ he prompts carefully diplomatic; Rex would be proud.

‘They were – some of them are from the 212th and they – they blamed Do-‘he squeezes his eyes, and tries again, ‘They said that Dogma was the traitor. That he was responsible.’ Tup’s face screws up, cracked wide open with emotion.

‘We know that’s not true’ he says, demanding, and Tup nods with a jerk of his head.

'I know, but they were spreading those lies about him, about Torrent company, and I couldn’t take it – I couldn’t let them say those things’ Tup says, determined and fiercely loyal.

‘Look,’ he goes to sit beside him, wilfully ignores Kix’s annoyed huff, and makes sure Tup is paying attention, ‘I agree with you, what happened out there wasn’t like anything we had to deal with before, and we lost brothers because of it – good men. I understand your anger, I do, and I would have done the same thing as you did back there when I was younger, but Tup, you can’t go around swinging on everyone who says something like that. They will. And you will get mad. But think of what Dogma would have said?’ Tup blinks, huffs a small laugh,

‘He would have told me not to listen to them, to shut them out, knowing that I had the chance to be a better man out of it’.

Fives knows that Dogma was not the most well-liked out of them, however that didn’t stop him from being one of the finest and most competent amongst Torrent. Fives couldn’t believe it, not really, when it happened, when Dogma left and didn’t come back, and, kriffing-hells he missed him! And Hardcase too. By the gods it’s unsettling. All of it.

‘Well, there you go. So, do me, Kix, and probably the Captain a favour, and don’t put permanent scars on some of those bolts-for-brains, yes?’ he offers, knocking Tup with a shoulder nudge until he nods.

He can’t fix Tup, however much he could, he can’t make him better with the click of his fingers and eradicate the emptiness.

‘Yes sir’ Tup says, and Fives scoffs at the use of rank.

‘Oh, shut up,’ he murmurs and hops off the bed before Kix decides to inject him with something purely because he is in here with Kix’s-second-favourite-brother who is injured. ‘Right, I’m going to go and steal Jesse’s brandy and find Rex to annoy him into a drink’ he announces.

‘He’s on the lower decks, he was, funnily enough, near the ARC berthing hulls so perhaps he was looking for you’ Kix says helpfully, not looking at him, tending to Tup’s bruising around his left eye.

‘Thanks’ he says and sets off in an about-turn in order to actually leave, only to have Kix move with stealth that an ARC trooper would be proud of, and snare his shoulder in a forceful way.

‘If that jaw of yours begins to hurt-‘

‘Yes, yes I will report in, don’t worry about me just make sure he’s alright’ he motions back towards Tup.

‘Of course,’ Kix says, dryly, the tightness around his eyes kindly informs Fives that he is very not amused at being told of precisely his job, but Fives couldn’t give a damn. Fives remembers using Jesse for cover when he got on Kix’s last nerve and ran from him – Rex had been entirely not happy with him that day. Ah, well.

‘Great’ he says, takes one last look at Tup who is staring at his hands, one split knuckle, and seems to be lost in thought.

Fives knows a little too well about that.

He leisurely salutes them both, dodges away from Kix’s last attempt to make sure he understands basic medical care of himself, and escapes. Once out and away, he feels like he can breathe better, the constrictions in his chest ease up. He does precisely what he said, and swipes Jesse’s _hidden_ bottle of brandy, and makes a mental note to find him some more at some stage. It’s not the best stuff, but it’s pretty good considering, and he is pretty sure they have Skywalker to thank for it – not that he would ever mention it.

He heads towards the captain’s quarters, seeing as Rex was nowhere to be found, and knocks in a rhythm, grinning when he hears Rex’s mildly irritated growl back.

‘Fives, come in’ and then door swishes open, revealing Rex sat at the tiny desk.

‘See, I told Kano that that knock is useful’ he says, lightly, and Rex blinks at him before narrowing his eyes.

‘What did you do?’ Rex asks, and Fives gives him credit, he hasn’t completely missed the mark.

‘Me? Nothing,’ he responds, and then waves the bottle at him. Rex rolls his eyes.

‘I don’t want to know how you have that. Or who’s it is’ he says knowingly, and Fives sighs and gazes at the bottle.

‘What’s going on?’ Rex asks, shrewdly and Fives puts the bottle down on the desk, leaving it alone, and he suddenly finds himself without words.

‘I-‘ He doesn’t know, he just frowns; thinking of Tup, of Dogma and Hardcase, of how Krell treated them all including Rex, of what happened at ‘79’s and finds he can’t deal as well as he thought he could.

‘Sit down’ Rex says, he’s put down his pad and is leaning towards Fives, concern sitting in the depths of his eyes.

Fives doesn’t mention Tup and that whole mess because it’s not his place, instead he talks about what he has the most reliable information on: _himself_. He begins spouting about how livid he was at the way some people think of clones, Jedi or not, he wants change somehow. Rex allows him to speak freely as he’s in private quarters, not on the field, and by the time he has stopped talking he’s got his head buried in his hands, scratching at his hair.

He hopes Tup is okay… He needs to be.

‘You know Kix messaged me, before you turned up?’ Rex asks slowly, and Fives’ head snaps up.

‘Damned snitching medic’ he mutters miserably, all while knowing that Kix has his right to pull rank and inform their Captain, as much as Fives wishes he hadn’t, ‘what did he say?’.

‘Nothing much, just that you and Tup turned up with injuries resulting from an altercation’ Rex’s glance is all too knowing, ‘Let me guess: this has something to do with Dogma?’ Rex asks and Fives desperately wants to put his fist through a wall at the insanity of the situation, it’s bordering on absurdity at how they are all supposed to just leave all of this be and carry on.

‘Yes’ is what he says, and Rex is looking at him like he knows Fives wants to say more, except he doesn’t, he keeps his mouth shut.

He’s a good soldier, he knows this. And so, he leans forward, and he listens.

Kix lets Tup cry. He allows him some privacy, politely busies himself, hovering near enough that if he required anything, he was close by to do so. When Tup is done he pulls his hair out of the band and snaps the band onto his wrist sharply. Kix rarely gets to see his hair down, he is still in sort of awe at it, and when Tup snaps the band again he takes the few steps towards him and stops him.

‘Please, don’t do that’ Kix settles.

‘Sorry’ Tup mumbles, and he twirls a finger around a lock of hair absently.

‘What can I do to help?’ Kix asks, because he’s the medic, and his brothers, his legion, are his life. If he can help some-how he will do what he can. And he is sure he must be able to do something other than insist Tup puts gauzes over his hand and keeps it there, and applies the gel for around his eye to reduce the swelling and heal it quicker.

‘Not a damned thing’ Tup says and Kix puts a hand on his shoulder, squeezing, peering into Tup’s face from where his hair creates a curtain on one side.

‘I miss them too, you know’ he says quietly. He not only means Dogma and Hardcase, he also had friends in the 212th who came back in body bags, that Kix couldn’t save, so he is well aware of the guilt that manifests in the back of your mind and the bottom of your heart, winding upwards to your lungs with pointy thorns of desolation. It’s horrendous, but it’s war, and amongst men like Krell, war really does come back with you.

‘I know… Fives copes. And Rex. I don’t know how they do it’ Tup says, bitterly, and Kix knows for a fact that neither Captain Rex or Lieutenant Fives cope they just move past it. He knows Rex is barely hanging on to his control, and Fives is cracking – little bits of him are steadily chipping off like a great marble statue. He breathes out through his nose and thinks before he says anything.

‘You’re not them, Tup, and no-one wants you to be. You're fine trooper. You’ll find your own way’ he says, offering a smile, and Tup’s eyes are desperate but calming down, and he isn’t staring at his hands anymore. He doesn’t look as empty or unhinged as he had done in arrival.

‘I’ve always liked you, Kix’ he says, lightly, and Kix shrugs.

'Of course, I give out drugs’ and his reply spills out with just enough placidity that Tup veers back, watching him like he’s grown another head, mouth drawn out in a disgusted slant, and _there_ is the Tup he knows.

‘I wouldn’t put it like that’ he says, and Kix grins, the one he’s given Jesse to make sure the fool actually follows his orders once he is out of med-bay. Tup is his second favourite, always has been, since their first deployment, because Tup is clever and kind and quiet; a stark difference from the likes of Jesse and Fives who are the reason why Rex ends up sitting in Kix’s office, in hiding, and pure lack of want to deal with those two when they are off-duty.

‘I’ll be alright’ Tup murmurs, nodding with a tiny bob of his head, and he sweeps up his hair in a bun with the quick work of deft hands, the band snapping into place. His eyes dart around for a moment, the gel dried completely on the side, and he sighs. ‘Am I clear to go?’ he asks, and Kix thinks of finding away to keep him here, to keep him under supervision, just till the next cycle. And yet he can’t bring himself to lie, so he shakes his head, and does the right thing.

‘Yes. But you know the drill, Tup, I don’t want to find you back here because you neglected any of this. Two applications a day till that goes away, and keep one of those patches on when you can’ he says, handing him the extra patches and one of the tubs of gel.

‘I won’t’ he says seriously, and yes, he’s not Rex who has to be bullied, or Fives who needs sedating to be kept still for two minutes when it’s himself under care, but Kix has this niggling feeling that he should be used to by now when it comes with being in the 501st.

Except he isn't. Not ever. He watches Tup leave with a wave, and he can’t help but think something will snap like hard crystalline sugar, leaving the 501st scrambling for a hold on what is normal. Normal for them at least, normal for clones. He doesn’t know what, he isn’t a Jedi with any of their foresight but he knows his brothers. Good brothers look out for one another.

It’ll be fine. It’ll all be okay.

After the war, it will all be different. It has to be.


End file.
